


Just Do It

by GalaxyAqua



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tumblr, Good Bye, I have descended into the trash bin, M/M, and sort of Leon, can you believe this, tumblr staff consists of Togami and Hagakure and Kirigiri, xkit guy!Naegi basically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 14:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5208524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyAqua/pseuds/GalaxyAqua
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thanks to Hagakure, this website is once again going through a series of unnecessary changes, and Togami (as usual) has to cover for him. It's all just a game, really, to test that guy that fixes all their problems for them, but soon enough Naegi's going to stop and then they'll be in deep, deep trouble. </p>
<p>Any time now, his co-worker is going to run their company to ruins. He's got to find a way to stop this... but how?</p>
<p>When Kirigiri shoves a card and number at his face, Togami thinks he should really just get a better job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Do It

**Author's Note:**

> this is really dumb lmao!! I wrote this for my angry friend (who did not like the tumblr updates hahaha)... but it escalated?? help???
> 
> p.s. this is not based off any real people!

The day at Tumblr HQ starts like any other…

“So, I was thinking, how about we like, move the search bar? Or change all the icons, for something trendier, right? Get rid of tag-tracking? Or – ooh, ooh, get this; we should like… go full minimalist. Push all the features behind buttons behind buttons. Like a full-out maze underneath – but it looks like there’s only 3 or 4 buttons to press! How cool would that be?”

… with Hagakure’s awful pitches for design changes, and Togami regretting ever assigning him head of site maintenance and overseer of user interface design.

“Or, or, Togami-chi, what if we made the dashboard _a different color_?! Hands up if you want a change up in here!” After saying so, Hagakure raises his arms straight towards the ceiling, “My hands are both up! Majority rules!”

Togami sighs, using all his power not to bash his head against a wall; instead, sending a stern look Hagakure’s way.

“Will you shut up?”

“What’s wrong with my ideas?” Hagakure huffs, but the grin doesn’t leave his face. “I think they’re great.”

“I think they’re unnecessary.”

“Aw, come on man, live a little! Don’t you want to stretch the boundaries? Have some fun?”

“Fun as in aggravating the entirety of our consumers and stunting user growth? No, thank you.”

Hagakure groans, as if Togami’s missed the entire point – which is foolish, of course, because Byakuya Togami never misses the point, and says, “Fun as in _pissing off that programmer_ , dude!”

When Togami stops mid-stride, the other nudges him cheerily, letting out a whoop. He knows he’s gotten him now. Hagakure always pulled that card out, and it never failed to make Togami think.

_That programmer._ It could mean no-one but the so-called ‘savior’ of their godforsaken website; who consistently coded extensions that would reverse their entirely unnecessary changes. A saint, to some. A selfless idiot, to others. Others meaning Byakuya Togami, and he wasn’t about to admit that he made full use of those extensions himself. 

The blond’s eyes flash with amusement for the briefest moment. It would be fun to see how much longer they could play this game – especially since he got paid for it, and their opposition clearly didn’t.

“Hmph.” He grunts, and his companion immediately lights up.

“See? See? I got you!” Hagakure makes a gesture of forming two guns with his hands and shooting at his superior. “You totally want to see how far we can push the guy, don’t you? He spends so much time – quote, unquote – ‘fixing our stupid problems’, after all! What do you say?”

“… bring them to the board.” Togami finally manages, closing his eyes and massaging his temples in exasperation. He cannot believe he is even considering this. All for the sake of the game. “You are utterly ridiculous.”

* * *

“Oh my _God,_ are you _serious?!_ ”

The infuriated squawk bounces off the walls of the house, startling everyone within earshot (someone is heard screaming in the distance) – but Naegi doesn’t even give a damn at this point –  and in moments, the sounds of footsteps thunder hurriedly to the kitchen, where from the door emerges a timid, sleep-deprived Chihiro Fujisaki and an aggravated, livid Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu.

“Did those fuckers change Facebook again?” the latter screeches, tearing into the kitchen without warning and storming towards Naegi, who had kicked his chair over. Kuzuryuu sets a hand on his friend’s shoulder, and levels him with a stare that demanded answers.

“It was Tumblr.” Naegi seethes, and Fujisaki winces visibly. “They changed the Tumblr layout. _Again._ ”

Kuzuryuu shakes a finger at the screen on the dining table and glares, teeming with so much pent up frustration that steam could be escaping from his ears. “Those little shits…”

“But you just finished coding an extension for their last update…” Fujisaki says mildly, brown eyes full of sympathy.

Naegi takes pleasure in kicking another chair over and pressing his palms to his face.

On any other day, the last person you’d expect to kick a chair over in frustration would be Makoto Naegi himself, but at this moment in time, you wouldn’t see it. Usually quite reserved, and rarely wishing to raise his voice – the young man was known to most as a benevolent, cordial soul, but his friends knew just how he was under less than 2 hours of sleep and coding non-stop for some asshole of a blogging website that kept changing their interface whenever the hell they felt like it. Not looking at any one in particular, of course.

**Sorry everyone,** Naegi types into his laptop speedily; a public post to let his followers know his current thoughts. **Not in the mood for fixing this right now. I’ll be back soon! Hope you’re all doing fine.**

“Seriously, Naegi, you don’t have to keep doing this shit…” Kuzuryuu tells him, eyebrows furrowed and chewing his lip in irritation. “Let those bastards know you won’t fix it next time – and they’ll have to deal with the consequences themselves.”

“I’m really tempted to.” Naegi replies with a long sigh. “I really am.”

“If this is too much for you, remember you can always take a break now and then.” Fujisaki suggests, then adds, “Or a hiatus… if you want to…”

“Sorry guys,” a tired smile crosses his lips, and he looks at both his friends with a grateful nod. “I’ve got a duty, and this is it.”

Kuzuryuu shakes his head but grins anyway, smacking Naegi across the back of the head, “If you say so, you numbnut. But remember to look after yourself, or I’m gonna beat the shit out of you.”

“Please don’t… but we’ll be cheering for you anyway, Naegi. Don’t be too hard on yourself, okay?” chirps in Fujisaki, hands laced together.

“Thanks, guys.” Naegi laughs, on the verge of falling asleep. “And I mean, there’s only so many changes Tumblr can make, right?”

* * *

 

“There’s only so many changes Tumblr can make, right?” Togami stares at the growing list in disbelief, glancing over at Hagakure, incredulous. The board meeting had concluded a mere moments prior, and Togami still did not want to accept what they had just agreed to.

“Well, if you wanna be a boring little poop, then yeah.” The guy leans back in his chair, completely carefree. “They’re all doable though, so I don’t see your problem, man.”

“The problem is that this is unreasonable.” The blond conveys, straightening the papers in his hands and placing them gingerly on the desk as if they had spited him. This is exactly the reason why he despised being second-in-command. He must be first to ensure such circumstances never arise. “And that Mr. Kirigiri unthinkably approved every single one of them. Unbelievable.”

“Hey, don’t dis a dude with good taste!”

“Our employer is hardly a ‘dude’, you disrespectful ingrate.”

“Ooh, big words. Big words.” Hagakure raises his hands in a sign of surrender, and jerks his thumb to the door. “So are we gonna get to it, or are we just gonna sit around and complain all day?”

Togami exhales deeply, resisting the urge to once again smack his face into something. When he takes over this company, he is going to have to make lots and lots of changes. But for now, he has to do what he is assigned, and curse Hagakure for ever existing and talking him into this stupidity.  “Fine. But you’re taking responsibility for most of it. I want nothing to do with this mess.”

“Sure thing, man. I’ll keep you updated, hey.” Swiveling in his chair, then pushing off the table with his feet, Hagakure wheels himself out of the meeting room, shrieking something along the lines of, “Man, Kirigiri-chi is gonna be so pissed when she sees this!”

Somewhere outside in the hallway, Togami hears Hagakure crash into somebody that sounds suspiciously like their resident freeloader Leon Kuwata (he doesn’t even go here!), and the peals of laughter that follow make him feel at urge to throw something. He doesn’t have to, however, when the telltale snap of Kyouko Kirigiri’s heels does it for him, scolding the ‘slackers who need to get new haircuts’, before he hears something terribly similar to the woman walking into a door right afterwards. He assumes she just shrugs it off and continues down the hallway, so pays little attention after that.

Alone in the meeting room, Togami sends a glare at the door, and then at the papers on the table. “I cannot believe this…” he mutters to himself. “I’m surrounded by idiots…”

“Am I included in that?”

The blond jumps, clearly not anticipating the presence of a certain Kyouko Kirigiri to be right behind him. He could have sworn she had passed the room just seconds before. The boss’ daughter was always sneaky like that.

“Yes.” Togami replies, crossing his arms and turning to face her. His blue gaze steadily held hers, as he affirms, “Quite certainly so.”

Kirigiri rolls her eyes, but makes no further comment. They were on good terms with each other (though neither of them would say it out loud), so any jabs Togami made would only result in eventual revenge anyway. “So I heard what you guys were planning for the site. Didn’t think you were that much of a little shit, but here we are.”

“Just so we’re clear – I barely had any say on the matter.” He doesn’t know why he bothers to correct himself, when Kirigiri’s smug look tells it all.

“For the sake of pissing off that guy, you’d agree to anything, wouldn’t you?”

“It’s not for his sake. I don’t even know him.”

“That’s a pretty weak argument.” Kirigiri smirks slightly, and if he was not attuned to her expressions, he wouldn’t have picked up on it. For some reason, it’s aggravating to see. “What if I gave you a chance to meet our favorite programmer in person? Would you take it?”

“I will not interfere with him on a personal level.” Togami replies curtly. “Our relationship is strictly professional.”

“Relationship?” His boss’ daughter presses a gloved fist to her mouth, as if stifling some rather unattractive laugh. “Oh my. Well. Whatever, I’ll let you know one thing, but you’re going to have to work for it.”

“I don’t want your useless information.” Togami starts putting his files in a folder, in preparation to exit the room and to flee – ahem, to strategically retreat from – Kirigiri’s blatant interest in that selfless idiot programmer of his. Not his particularly, though, because he doesn’t _own_ the guy or anything, but it’s just more convenient to phrase it like that because otherwise they’d be talking of all the other selfless idiot programmers in the world which Byakuya Togami has no regard for. … not that he has any regard for this one either, but you know.

“I know his name,” she teases. “And what he looks like. And where he lives.”

“I don’t care.” Togami grumbles, and makes a beeline for the door.

And he doesn’t care. Not really. Well, maybe he’s a little curious. But that is educational curiosity, and nothing else.

* * *

 

For the first time in what is probably three days, though Kuzuryuu insists it was a week, Naegi leaves their house on a mission to buy groceries, among other things. He had protested, initially, but Kuzuryuu would not hear any of it and all Fujisaki told him was that it would be good to get some fresh air once in a while – and unable to refute that, the brunet set out on his reluctant journey to the shops.

He doesn’t remember the last time he had a good night’s sleep, and he thinks it might show. All he thinks about as he trudges down the long, winding concrete paths is code, and more code, and how Tumblr should stop hecking up all his progress by updating conveniently after his extensions are released.

Naegi thinks that if he could meet the guy behind all of his suffering right now, he’d like to punch said guy in the face. But he wouldn’t _punch_ them punch them, because that would be mean. Whoever it was had to have a good reason behind it all, right? He hopes so, at the very least.

Or else he really might punch them.

(He probably wouldn’t.)

Approaching the closest supermarket, Naegi immediately heads for it, cursing himself internally for not doing enough exercise because his legs feel like lead and he’s sure he’s only been walking for around 5 minutes.

Naturally, he puts it down to both sleep deprivation and lack of exercise when he crashes into someone, and is sent sprawling onto the ground.  

Said someone, a tall woman with cascading lavender hair in a stiff black suit, apologizes and offers her hand to help him up. The first thing he notices is her studded leather gloves – a sheer contrast to the rest of her outfit.

“Are you going to take my hand or not?” she asks, after a long moment, but it isn’t scathing. She looks impatient, so Naegi grabs her hand hurriedly and pulls himself up, scratching his cheek nervously.

“Sorry about that.”

“Not a problem. We all have our moments.”

Naegi laughs, rubbing at his tired eyes, before nodding. “Yeah. We do. Thanks for helping me up, by the way…”

“Kyouko Kirigiri.” She introduces herself, and doesn’t put out her hand to shake. Naegi supposes they already did shake hands, in a way, so doesn’t comment on it.

“Makoto Naegi.” He tells her, “Nice to meet you.”

“Hey, you sound familiar.” Kirigiri taps her chin once, as if in deep contemplation. Then, as if she had rehearsed her revelation, she asks, “Are you on Tumblr?”

Now what Naegi didn’t know at the time, was that Kyouko Kirigiri was the daughter of the CEO of Tumblr. He also didn’t know that this was a standard question she asked strangers, as a sort of casual survey on her father’s behalf. All little Naegi knew, was that he had not slept because of Tumblr, and that the website was the bane of his existence.

So he starts to rant.

“I have been on Tumblr for years, and can I tell you that not once – not _once_ – have they ever changed the format so much and in so little time; do you know how impractical that is? Not only do new members get confused, but the old members or returning members never know what’s going on half the time, and I have to keep making extensions to reverse the stupid changes, and it’s like: ‘hey isn’t an extension supposed to enhance the experience?’ Well yeah, enhance it by bringing it back to the interface that everyone _knew_ and _loved_ , let me tell you – “

“Hold up.” Kirigiri sticks out her hands, fingers to the ceiling, as a half-hearted gesture for him to stop. “You’re losing me, here. I just want to clarify one thing – you make extensions for Tumblr?”

“Yes,” Naegi breathes, then reddens because he realized how overwhelming it must have been to have a stranger break into a rant about some blogging website that half the world probably doesn’t care about. “It’s a… hobby. I’m not staff or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No. Just stop talking for a moment. I need to process this.”

Naegi blinks, but does as he is told. He taps his foot on the ground while he waits, fumbling with the sleeve of his oversized coat.

He idly wonders why Kuzuryuu put 10 pounds of oranges on the shopping list (what the hell, Kuzuryuu?), and why Fujisaki thinks they need another 10 packs of chocolate-chip cookies. He wonders further why everything has to be in tens. It must be a programmer thing, Naegi thinks, and shrugs it off as nothing. He’d probably buy himself 10 lots of jelly cups anyway; seeing as both his housemates seemed to eat those at every given moment.

After watching him for a while, Kirigiri finally speaks up, asking, “Are you… the-luckness-monster?”

The brunet reddens again, not particularly wanting to hear the online handle said out loud. Embarrassing. He sinks a little into his coat. “Yeah.” He mumbles. “One of my roommates came up with that.”

“Cool,” she says, “I like your work.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s literally the greatest thing. You’re a blessing.” She seems sincere, but her expression doesn’t change much as she adds, “But I mean, you must get that a lot.”

“Thanks…” Naegi says bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “It really means a lot to me, even so.”

Kirigiri nods once, “Well, I’m glad.”

Naegi nods in return, not knowing what else to say. He tries to politely point in the direction of the fruit, where he intends to go, but if the other picks up on his cue, she ignores it.

“Do you mind if I tag along with you for a while? I just want to ask a couple more questions.”

“As long as you’re not recording them,” Naegi allows with an exasperated sigh. “I haven’t exactly slept enough to function.”

“I can tell.” Kirigiri comments bluntly, swinging around him to seize a shopping trolley and carting it towards Naegi. “Tell me what you’re after. I’ll just talk while we walk.”

“You’re a lifesaver, you know that?” The brunet says through a yawn.

Kirigiri only chuckles, ever so lightly. “The real lifesaver here is you. Now, tell me more about your hobby…”

* * *

“You… _what_!?”

Hagakure shrugs nonchalantly, as Togami shoves him out of the way and taps speedily into the computer. When all that comes up is jumbled code, and the distinct blaring of his co-worker’s alarm clock, the blond scowls and turns to look Hagakure directly in the eye.

“Okay, not even an idiot like you can screw up this much. Tell me what you did and why you did it.”

“I got rid of replies, man.”

“What do you mean you ‘got rid of replies’?” Togami massages his temple. “You can’t just ‘get rid’ of them.”

“I can, and I just did.” The other grins smugly in reply, kicking off his desk to once again slam into the Tumblr HQ errand-boy Leon, and start doing some sort of secret handshake with him for some bizarre reason. The blond is past questioning it, and just hopes that the stupidity will not rub off on him. “Don’t stress, Togami-chi, I’ve got something faster, bigger and better to replace those dingy old replies with anyway!”

Togami deadpans. “Don’t tell me you’re putting in an instant messaging system.”

“Wow! Incredible! Right on the money!”

“ _Hagakure Yasuhiro._ ”

“Don’t give me that look! You’re scaring me, man,” He laughs, and looks pointedly at his friend, “You’re scaring Leon, too!”

“Yeah, man,” Leon agrees. “You’re steaming so hard, I could cook veggies under your ears.”

Leon and Hagakure high-five at that, and Togami just gets up and starts walking away.

“No, Togami-chi, wait, come back, I’m sorry!”

Apparently addicted – or stuck onto – his wheelie chair, however, Hagakure cannot keep up with him and instead wheels around in a circle and ends up right where he started. Much to Togami’s disdain though, Leon offers to chase him down, and the Tumblr HQ hobo catches onto his sleeve in no time.

“Togami, my bro, my man, special officer of my heart,” he commences, and Togami immediately wants to throw him out a window.

He doesn’t, of course, because at least he (unlike some people) can exercise self-control.

“I personally think that you should give this thing a chance, y’know?” Leon pats him on the shoulder. “Imagine: talking to people in real-time over Tumblr.”

The blond raises an eyebrow. “And you can’t talk in real-time to people somewhere else?”

“Well, _yeah_ , but – ”

“Kuwata, what are you even doing here?”

“Oh, who, me? I’m part-time coffee maker, part-time janitor, part-time vending machine, and also I live here sometimes?”

At least that’s one problem solved.

“Give me an honest answer.” Togami says, eyes narrowed. He sees Leon visibly gulp. “Do you think Tumblr needs an instant messaging system?”

“Of course! Yeah! Heck yeah!” Leon immediately responds, clicking his fingers and doing a twirl. “Do it, man, let the masses chat to each other to their heart’s content. Let friends be closer friends! And closer friends be even closer friends!”

“… I shouldn’t have asked you. You’re an idiot.”

“Whoa, rude, much?”

“I don’t care. I’m going back to fixing this website.”

Leon blinks, not bothering to chase him down again as he turns to leave. Instead, he calls after the blond; “I thought fixing Tumblr’s problems was luckness’ job, though?”

“Don’t mention luckness in my presence.” He snaps, before he can even think about what he’s saying. Togami immediately regrets it, because now that he’s started saying that damn programmer’s username _out loud_ , he knows he’s not going to live that down.

“Ohh, getting defensive, are we?”

Luckily, Leon is an idiot, and Togami is safe (for now).

He swears Kirigiri is going to pop out of nowhere and he’s got his mental fingers crossed that she’s busy and she won’t

“So, Togs – ”

“Call me that again and I will end you.”

“Sorry, _Togami_ , okay.” Leon skips up to the blond, and he can already hear the grin in the redhead’s voice. “I didn’t even know you higher beings knew of luckness! What a luck… _mess_ , am I right?”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Togami sighs. “What do you want? I don’t have time to sit around and chat to you.”

“Just one thing.” He raises his pointer finger, then retracts it. “What was I gonna – oh yeah! Please approve of the IMs and stuff. Hiro worked pretty hard on it, even if he was playing with you back there. We wanted it to be a surprise, since, you know, surprises are fun?”

“Your point being…?”

“Just – just give us this one thing, alright?”

 Togami gives him a sharp look. “You _do_ realize that it’s already being finalized, right? I don’t have a choice.”

“Oh, what, really? Awesome!”

“Kuwata – ”

“See ya round!”

And just like that, Leon rounds the corner and disappears from sight, leaving Togami to wallow in his own frustration. Of course, fate is not kind to a certain Byakuya Togami, and within moments, Kirigiri pops out from a nearby room (she’s got to stop doing that!) and waves.

“Hey, Togami.” She greets, and he turns his head to the wall in hopes that she will leave him alone. She doesn’t. “I just went grocery shopping with Naegi.” She says, as if that sentence has any meaning to him at all.

“Who?”

“Oh,” Kirigiri smirks, a palmed fist raised to her chin. “I’m sorry. I forgot you didn’t know.”

He clenches his teeth. “Didn’t know what?”

“The-luckness-monster’s real name.”

It’s _Naegi?_

“I don’t care about that.”

“Yes, you do. The sudden light of realization crossed your face just a second ago.”

Togami scoffs. “There is no such thing.”

“There is.” She replies, emerging fully from the doorway and striding up to him. After a beat of silence, Togami starts walking down the hallway once more, but to his annoyance, Kirigiri follows him.

“What do you want?” He asks, sighing in exasperation. “What? Am I supposed to care that you took Naegi out shopping? Is that supposed to be of concern to me? Why were you even there? You’re aware it’s currently working hours, right?”

“Why do you care?” She asks with a hint of amusement in her tone. “Are you jealous?”

“Of course not.” Togami declares firmly. “I don’t even know him.”

“But you’re curious about him.”

“Two different words, Kirigiri.”

“You don’t deny you’re curious, then?” A secretive smile crosses her lips. “Thanks. That’s all I wanted to know.”

And before he can even begin to question her odd behaviour, Kirigiri is speeding away from him with her heels making a steady rhythm on the ground, her long lavender hair flying out behind her. Peculiar. But then again, he didn’t really care enough to question it.

Maybe finally, he would be able to get back to work.

Togami makes his way down the hallway – in peace, thank God – and tries not to think about this new information.

_Naegi, huh? What a blatantly average name._

* * *

 

Naegi makes it home in one piece and collapses boneless on the couch in exhaustion. Surrounded by oranges and cookies and jelly cups (and a variety of other bits and bobs), Naegi allows the goods to be extracted from him by the careful hands of Fujisaki, and prepares himself for Kuzuryuu to pick him straight off the couch and march him to his room.

“Seriously?!” The blond groans, hauling Naegi up by the hood of his jacket and starting to drag him off to his room – just as predicted. “Come on, you lazy ass. You’re the one who drove yourself to this much sleep-deprivation. At least take yourself back to bed, too.”

“M’ tired.” He answers with a yawn, and Kuzuryuu just sighs. Naegi feels himself being tossed onto his own bed, and immediately curls up to his pillow, shutting his eyes.  

“No getting out of bed until tomorrow, alright? That’s an order.” He hears Kuzuryuu grumble, but his roommate tosses a blanket over him and stomps towards the door. “If I hear you coming out of bed before 9,” he says warningly, “I’m gonna kick you straight back in here. No arguments.”

“Kay,” Naegi replies, pulling the blanket over his head. He really doesn’t intend on getting up again for a long while, and he’s glad for the concern – though he feels a little guilty for having to be dragged into bed every single time.

Fujisaki appears at the door just as Kuzuryuu is walking out, and waves, whispering, “Good night, Naegi. Sweet dreams.”

“You too,” he mumbles, despite it being 4 in the afternoon.

The door is shut quietly after that, and Naegi is out like a light – immersed into the dream world for what will probably be a good 24 hours.

Luckily, or unluckily, he wakes up 12 hours after he first hit the sheets, and it’s 4am and he’s staring at the ceiling and he’s _bored_. Rolling over, he grabs his mobile from his bedside table (sometime during his rest, one of his roommates must have found it in the shopping bags and returned it, bless their souls) and, on instinct, opens Tumblr.

He pauses for a moment, just staring blankly at his the screen showing his dashboard – and seeing the first post vanish within seconds, just like always – when he’s struck with a sudden feeling of dread. He hesitantly raises a finger to scroll down, when the words ‘new update’ assault his eyes and he frowns.

“They got rid of replies?” he hisses quietly, after scrolling down the post a little more. “But – but why?”

He keeps scrolling, now wide awake, when a sudden buzz from his mobile has him dropping his phone onto his face.

“Ow – dammit – ” Glad to be alone so that nobody could witness the act, Naegi scrambles to find his phone again and somehow, it had ended up on the floor. He looks at the device and frowns. “How?” He asks, as he picks it up again. “How did you even get over there?”

Locating the source of his interruption, he sees a new text from his new, well, friend. Acquaintance, really, but he could see him and Kirigiri becoming friends. Probably. As long as these 4am texts didn’t become a habit.

**From [Kyouko Kirigiri, 4:12am]:** Hey, did you see the news?

 

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:12am]:** why are you awake? it’s 4 in the morning?

**From [Kyouko Kirigiri, 4:13am]:** shit, really?

**From [Kyouko Kirigiri, 4:13am]:** sorry, did I wake you up?

 

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:14am]:** no, it’s fine, don’t worry!! I was just surprised haha

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:14am]:** what news?

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:14am]:** wait don’t tell me

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:14 am]:** no replies, right?

 

**From [Kyouko Kirigiri, 4:15am]:** Yep. Just here to tell you not to bother fixing it up.

**From [Kyouko Kirigiri, 4:15am]:** Because a bigger thing is coming.

 

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:16am]:** what? Really? How do you know?

 

**From [Kyouko Kirigiri, 4:16am]:** Because I can read….? The post?

 

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:17am]:** haha sorry but it’s 4am and I’m trying ok

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:17am]:** for a second, I thought you were tumblr staff hahaha

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:17am]:** glad to see you’re not the source of my misery

 

**From [Kyouko Kirigiri, 4:18am]:** … right. So anyway. Get some rest. You deserve it.

 

**From [Makoto Naegi, 4:18am]:** thanks! You too!!

He may or may not have gotten a text after that, but Naegi feels himself drifting off again, phone still in hand.

The next thing he’s aware of is someone sitting on him, and shaking him awake. Blinking open his green eyes, he sees Fujisaki’s worried face, and then belatedly realizes that he’s lying on the floor.

“Did you, ah, fall out of bed last night?” His roommate asks worriedly, tucking a lock of fluffy brown hair behind a pale, pierced ear.  

“I… guess?” Naegi lolls his head to the side. “What time is it?”

“I-it’s 9:30.” Fujisaki replies. “Kuzuryuu asked me to check if you were still alive, and I found you on the floor, so… um…”

“Well, I’m alive, thanks.” He laughs, easing the tension in his muscles a little, though he doesn’t have the heart to tell Fujisaki to get off of him. His roommate seems to get the hint though, and shuffles around nervously as Naegi says, “Good morning!”

“Morning…!”

The weight is lifted when Fujisaki stands, and Naegi grins up at the other programmer.

“Have you got work today?” He asks, as the shorter brunet is pulling him slowly to his feet.

“It depends… I think I might be called in as a replacement, but I’m not sure…”

“Cool, well, good luck.” Naegi pats the other once on the head, and stretches. “Three guesses as to what I’m doing today?”

“You’re not touching a computer.” Fujisaki states firmly, cheeks puffed out. It’s not intimidating in the slightest, but Naegi leans back a little for show, eyebrows creasing. “No – no, no, Naegi, don’t look sad! You – you need to take it easy. Relax a little, okay?”

“Programming _is_ relaxing.”

“That’s er, not what it looked like yesterday…”

“Yesterday was yesterday. Tomorrow is today.”

“… what?”

Kuzuryuu suddenly comes barreling through the door, shouting, “Oi, look what I just found – ” before stopping short, and staring at his two other roommates suspiciously. “ _Geez Louise_ , did you guys even sleep? You look like shit.”

“Thanks, that’s exactly what I want to hear first thing in the morning,” Naegi laughs, and Kuzuryuu rolls his eyes.

“Look, I don’t care what you’re doing at night, but just make sure you’re not skimping on hours because if I find out, you’re dead.” The blond says warningly, before brightening up, just a little. “Anyway – being your loving manager, yes I know, put that hand down Naegi, I’m not finished yet – I found someone willing to hire you as a programmer!”

“Wait, what, really?”

Fujisaki smiles, “That’s great, Naegi!”  

Naegi looks stunned, so Kuzuryuu helpfully supplies, “Fucking _finally_ , am I right?”

“I … I… really?”

“Does this face look like it could lie to you?”

“But… I just didn’t think… so soon?” Naegi chuckles nervously, running a hand through his hair. “Who’s going to code extensions for Tumblr while I’m busy with w-work then…?”

Fujisaki and Kuzuryuu share a look, and then direct said look – blatant disbelief – at Naegi.

“Naegi,” Kuzuryuu starts, crossing his arms. “You’ve got to stop being Jesus for a second, and take control of your own life first, okay?” He sighs. “We’re not forcing you to take the job, but it’ll be good for you… your future and shit. Help you pay for college, when you eventually go.”

“Kuzuryuu’s right.” Fujisaki adds. “You can… you can still code for Tumblr in your spare time, you know? It’s not like it’s your obligation. You just chose to do so, and if anyone ha-harasses you for not doing it, then… it’s none of their business!”

“Oh, I’ll – I’ll take the job,” Naegi answers quickly, waving his arms. “No doubt about it. I need to pull my weight around here, too, so…”

Kuzuryuu clears his throat. “Whatever’s stopping you, get it out. You know we’re here for you, so don’t worry about living expenses just yet. Think about what _you_ want, and good grief, leave Tumblr out of this.”

He smiles gratefully, looking between his roommates as they nod at him. “Thanks, guys.”

* * *

 

“Alright, Togami-chi, this is important, man. Give me a suggestion here,” Hagakure waves him over, and Togami swallows a sigh and an insult and takes a seat by his co-worker’s station.

“What.” He says flatly. He adjusts his glasses with a scowl, hoping to look intimidating enough for this conversation to be over quickly.  

“Confetti, streamers or balloons?” Hagakure asks with a grin.

“No.” Togami replies.

“What – what do you mean ‘no’? Pick one!”

“No.”

“You’re our last hope,” the other begs, pressing his palms together and raising them to the ceiling. “I say confetti, Kuwata-chi says streamers and Kirigiri-chi says balloons, so pick one, please?”

“No. I’m leaving.”

“We’re sending out chat betas tomorrow!” Hagakure wheels up after him, having apparently mastered the skill of fast-wheeling and now (unfortunately) able to catch up to Togami’s long strides. “Come on, just pick one. They’re all fun and colorful and user-friendly, so any is fine!”

“Then _you_ pick one. I don’t care.”

“So you’re cool with confetti?”

“I said _I don’t care_.”

“Awesome, confetti, got it!”

The sounds of Hagakure wheeling away brings Togami a wave of relief he didn’t think was possible, though, as usual, it is short-lived, as once _again,_ Kirigiri finds a way to mystically appear out of nowhere at the most annoying of times. She stands at the vending machine, twirling a lock of hair around her finger as she waits for Togami to get closer – he doesn’t want to, but his work station is in that direction and he wants to actually get to work – and stops him by throwing a chip packet at his shoulder.

He catches it, and throws it back.

“Hey.” She greets, snapping the back open with ease. “Want some?”

“Not particularly, no.”

“Want to hear a random fact about Naegi?”

“Not particularly, no.”

“He likes blonds,” she supplies anyway, ending the sentence with a wink that Togami feels is entirely inappropriate for the situation. He feels that the comment is aimed _directly_ at him, but that would be foolish. After all, he has never met Naegi before in his life – dammit, why is he referring to him by name so casually now? What a pain.

He needs to get away from Kirigiri. She’s a bad influence.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to work, thank you very much.”

“He also thinks Tumblr staff are the source of his misery.” She calls after him, as he takes an opening and starts speed-walking down the corridor. “And he likes jelly. His favorite color is green.”

“Will you stop?” He shoots over his shoulder, not willing to cup his hands over his ears like an idiot, but very much feeling the urge to do so.

“Will I?”

She’s definitely a bad influence.

He opts to ignore her final words.

“You know, I think you’d get along with him.”

What would she know? There’s no substance to a claim like that. Not when it comes to _people_ and _Byakuya Togami_. Two things that barely ever matched in the first place.

But even so, he can’t help but wonder, just a little bit more.

It’s still chalked up to educational curiosity though, and that is all.

Yet while he’s thinking about it so hard – why does he care so much in the first place? Is it because he actually enjoys trying to piss the guy off? – he fails to pick up on a passing conversation filled with information he would probably have liked to be aware of:

“Can you believe the boss finally tracked him down? I don’t know if he’s gonna work here full-time, but I can’t wait to meet him! I wonder if he’s cute…”

“What? With a username like _the-luckness-monster_? Come on, Aoi, he’s probably a geek, anyway, just let it go.”

“He’s gonna be cute, and you’re gonna be so jealous.”

“You _wish_ , girl.”

“I’ll bet you ten he’s cute.”

“Oh, you’re on.”

Indeed, it would seem, that in only a few days’ time… there would be a surprise waiting for everyone.

**Author's Note:**

> so as you can see, this is not exactly finished... but actually, I'm not quite sure if I should finish it?? it's a really dumb au and I don't want to offend anyone with it tbh... but hey, if anyone's interested in a continuation, let me know? otherwise, it's off to work on my other fics! //flies away//


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